Growing Crops for Human Consumption

Legumes

• Broad Beans

Situated in Tayside, along Scotland’s temperate east coast, East Coast Viners is one of the largest producers of broad beans in the UK.  

• Field Beans

Field beans are hardier and tolerate cold better than their relative, broad beans. Currently however, we grow as many beans for livestock in Scotland, as we do for human consumption. The majority of beans grown for human consumption are exported to North Africa and the Middle East to use as alternatives to chickpeas in dishes such as falafel and hummus.

Garden Organic give a great guide to growing field beans for human consumption.

• Lentils

Lentils have traditionally been regarded as an unfeasible crop to grow in Scotland. However, recently, there has been growing interest about the crop’s potential with groups of farmers collaborating with food processors, buyers and researchers to advance the position of lentils (amongst other pulses) in Scottish agriculture. Furthermore, in a recent webinar on protein crops in Scotland hosted by the Farm Advisory Service, one of the presenters, an SAC researcher, mentioned that lentils had performed particularly well in their field trials.

• Peas

Bruce Farms in Perthshire have been growing peas for over 50 years and grow more than half the peas in Scotland. They created Podberry pea snacks which are now available in selected Scottish Morrison stores.

• Lupins

Cereals

• Oats

• Wheat

• Barley
• Rye
• Triticale

Called a “scientific marvel in the world of nutrients”, this hybrid of wheat and rye contains more fibre, nutrients and protein than either of its parent grains.

Vegetables

Currently, the UK imports around 90% of its fruit and veg. With a temperate climate and plenty of rain this makes no sense. With our departure from the EU, it becomes more important that we begin to grow our own. We already have some amazing growers in Scotland. The polytunnel revolutionised horticulture and now, with the arrival of vertical crop growing (see our section on Repurposing Buildings), vegetables can be grown, literally, anywhere.

Let’s start with the “tried and tested”:

• Broad beans
• Peas
• Potatoes
• Purple sprouting broccoli
• Kale
• Onions
• Carrots
• Beetroot
• Chard
• Lettuce (multiple varieties)
• Turnips/swedes

Kettle Produce in Fife contract with around 50 farmers throughout Scotland to grow their brassicas, root, and salad veggies.

Other Veggies Widely Grown in Scotland

• Cauliflower
• Brussels sprouts
• Cabbage (multiple varieties)
• Leeks
• Parsnips
• Calabrese
• Cucumber
• Radish
• Squash
• Spring greens
• Mushrooms – from large enterprises such as Mushrooms Scotland Ltd., to smaller circular ones such as Green Grow, mushrooms can be grown indoors and thereby provide a great opportunity to repurpose buildings and develop a new income stream.

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Fruit

• Strawberries
• Raspberries
• Blackberries

Stewarts of Tayside, former sheep and cattle farmers, switched to growing strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and swedes. This proved to be the profitable move that enabled them to buy the farm. Today, they are the largest grower of swedes in the UK and the largest independent soft fruit grower in Scotland.

• Blueberries
• Blackcurrants

During the summer of 2020, the James Hutton Institute harvested the first batch of their newly bred variety, the ‘Ben Lawers’ blackcurrant. Given that blackcurrants require a cold winter spell so that they may fruit in the summer, this variety was bred to cope with the increasingly milder and shorter winter chills brought upon by climate change, allowing the crop to bear fruit in spite of this. Dr Dorota Jarret at the James Hutton institute hopes this will be the first of many more climate resilient crops to come, and notes that several other trials are currently ongoing.

• Tayberries

Angus Soft Fruits in Arbroath declared their profits up by 37% in 2019 to £1.327 million

• Honeyberries

Honeyberries have been widely cultivated in Japan and Russia, and are gaining traction as a valuable berry crop in Scotland. The crop boasts superior levels of micro-nutrients to other fruits and has accordingly been grown in numerous orchards ranging from the highlands to the borders, although the majority of their production has been located in central eastern Scotland. While the fruit can be eaten fresh, it can also be a great addition to other foods like jam, ice cream and smoothies. The Scottish Honeyberry Growers cooperative has more information on honeyberries as well as opportunities for purchasing and growing this crop.

• Tomatoes
• Rhubarb
• Apples
• Pears
• Plums
• Gooseberries

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Nuts

Nuts could perhaps hold a place as a key crop in the UK and Ireland, given the productivity of nut crops and their great nutritional profile (calorically dense with good amounts of fats, proteins and other micronutrients). Currently, cobnuts (a cultivated variety of hazelnuts), chestnuts and walnuts are the main nuts that are grown commercially here. Each of these can be grown across the British Isles, but the further North they are grown, the less yield they will give. Some examples of commercial producers are Potash Farm, Roughway Farm and Granary Oils. We also have a case study on Gina Bates who runs Highland Veganics, an 80 acre croft in Sutherland that has been planted with several varieties of cobnuts.

This panel talk, future nut production in the UK, from the 2023 Oxford Real Farming Conference is essential viewing for anyone considering commercially producing nuts in the UK or Ireland. It’s worth noting that one of the panellists in this talk pointed out that there is high demand for domestically produced nuts. For those interested in growing cobnuts specifically, the Kentish Cobnuts Association is a valuable source of information (and not just for those living in Kent), offering a guide book on growing Kentish cobnuts and a membership that lets you connect with other cobnut growers amongst other benefits.

• Hazelnuts
  – Gina Bates of Highland Veganics